it was supposed to be a dumb terminal but it was "secretly" an actual - very early - personal computer ("they chose to keep quiet about this so as not to concern investors"). its CPU was going to be a microprocessor chip (rather than discrete logic), and they asked TI and Intel to design it but TI couldn't make it, and they didn't use Intel's chip. BUT Intel kept the design and it ended up becoming the x86 architecture!

interestingly it also predates the Kenbak-1 from 1971 which is usually recognized as the first ever "personal computer", probably because it wasn't SOLD as a personal computer? but like... ... Death of the Author, tho

@jk I distantly remember around 1985-/7 seeing similar terminals to these in use at banks - in particular the TSB, in contrast to today, it was viewed as both reliable and technologically advanced!

I expect they were possibly being used as mainframe terminals and the unusual screen size meant they did not take up excessive space (it could be a similar custom built terminal using the same monitor, as Datapoint had a big presence in UK and a base in London then)

@vfrmedia i think datapoint had a line of terminals with similar physical construction but different innards, and i've also seen some with different branding/aesthetics, especially as i think they even built terminals that were branded as made by DEC (!)

@vfrmedia i suppose in an emerging market like "video terminals in the early 70s" it makes sense that someone like DEC would want as many "DEC-branded" (but not necessarily DEC-designed or manufactured) products on the market as possible to establish the brand in that sector

@jk they had HP branding too. I lived in Reading for much of my youth, where both DEC and HP also had corporate headquarters, though literally until I (briefly) attended University from 1990-1992 terminals were hidden well away from young folk like me (as we might be heckers)- and the ones in the Uni labs were Taiwanese clones of the VT100/220 etc.

(still a lot of VAX/VMS boxen in use there, MS Powershell reminds me a lot of that OS (perhaps not a coincidence?))